Top grants and programs to boost your business in 2025

These initiatives are tailored to address diverse needs, from fostering innovation and sustainability to aiding recovery and expansion.

Businesses have an opportunity to leverage these to enhance their operations, invest in new technologies and expand their market reach across all sectors.

The Victorian Chamber’s Grant Finder service helps business find and access these initiatives, with some of the prominent ones available to Victorian business listed below:

• Industry Growth Program: Provides an advisory service for startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) undertaking innovative commercialisation and/or growth projects that are within the priority areas of the Australian Government’s National Reconstruction Fund (NRF) and help build Australia’s manufacturing capability for the future.
• Victorian Business Growth Fund: Supports Victorian SMEs ready to grow their business, but that can’t access the funds or find the right partner to take the next step.
• Research and Development Tax Incentive: Helps companies innovate and grow by offsetting some of the costs of eligible research and development (R&D).
• CSIRO Kick-Start: Provides matched funding for start-ups and small to medium enterprises to help access CSIRO’s research expertise and capabilities to help grow your business.
• Small Business Skills and Training Boost: Provides small businesses with a bonus tax deduction to help them train new staff and upskill existing staff.
• Small Business Technology Investment Boost: Allows small businesses to claim a 20 per cent bonus deduction on technology expenditure to help digitise their business.
• Innovate to Grow: Free 10-week program for small to medium enterprises (SMEs) who want to progress their research and development opportunities or are in the early decision-making stages about engaging in research and development.
• Digital Jobs: Provides businesses with an opportunity to host a digitally trained candidate through a subsidised 12-week internship.
• Advancing Renewables Program: Provides businesses with funding or finance to develop renewable energy technologies.
• Victorian Energy Upgrades: Provides businesses with discounts on a wide range of energy-saving products and services when accessed through accredited providers.
• Early Stage Venture Capital Limited Partnerships (ESVCLP): Provides fund managers and investors with support to help stimulate early stage venture capital investments. Benefits include tax exemptions on an investor’s share of a fund’s income and tax gains.
• Social Enterprise Capability Building Grants: Provides funding to social enterprises to help them become more efficient and effective in delivering social benefits to vulnerable Australians.
• Wage Subsidies: Provides financial incentives to employers to hire and retain eligible participants in ongoing and sustainable positions.
• Regional Events Fund: Supports events that attract visitors from outside the region, create job opportunities and contribute to the local visitor economy.
• Agrifutures Australia RD&E Investment: Provides funding to organisations to deliver research and innovations that aim to strengthen and future-proof established and emerging rural industries.
• Indigenous Advancement Strategy: Provides funding for organisations to help them undertake projects or activities which promote equal opportunities for Indigenous Australians.
• Instant Asset Write-Off: Eligible businesses can claim an immediate deduction for the business portion of the cost of an asset in the year the asset is first used or installed ready for use.
• Backing Business Investment – Accelerated Depreciation: This arrangement allows you to claim depreciation of new business assets at a faster rate in your tax return.
• Self-Employment Assistance: Provides support to people interested in starting their own business or who need help to refocus an existing small business.
• Partners in Wellbeing: Offers eligible sole traders, small business owners and their employees free and confidential support. You can speak with trained wellbeing coaches, financial counsellors and business advisers.

Grant Finder

Many more industry or issues-specific grants and support are available.

Although an essential enabler to support business growth, we know finding grants can be complex and time consuming. The Victorian Chamber Grant Finder is your new single source of truth for business grants in Victoria.

We can help you identify which local, state or federal government grants best suit your business needs.

Use Grant Finder today